You Have Something to Fear

I just don't know what the something is.  But I know that the emotion of fear is real.  Even if the thing you are afraid of is not.   

We have nothing to fear but fear itself.  I get that. But I don't know if it's true. Think of your greatest fear.  The one that gets you.  The very thought of ______ shakes you to the core.  Losing your spouse?  Losing your children?    There really isn't anything I could say or do to remove that fear.  I can't force you to hold a spider and have the fear be gone.

There are people that have claimed to have had an encounter with a Sasquatch.  Scares the shit out of them.  Some of them, quite literally.  They live in such great fear that the freedom they once had of being in the woods was stripped away in that moment.  Who am I to tell them their experience wasn't real?  Who am I to tell them it was only a bear?  Whatever happened to them in that moment, for them, was a real fear.  It doesn't matter to anyone if Sasquatch is real or not, the emotion that person experienced and continues to experience is most definitely real.  Treat it that way.  

There are people that are convinced in demonic possession.  They believe in spiritual warfare, ghosts and other supernatural encounters.  You know, haunted houses and stuff like that.  It's paralyzing for some people.  Who am I to tell them there is no such thing as ghosts?  Who am I to tell them their experience was a figment of their imagination?  Whether or not the house is haunted or not is irrelevant.  They have a legit fear. 

There are people that have a fear of enclosed spaces.  There are people that have a fear of falling.  Heights.  Snakes.  Spiders.  CLOWNS.  Fears of being abandoned.  Real fears.  We don't get to decide for others what they should be afraid of.  

There are some people that have real fears about a Trump presidency.  The people that he is appointing have racist, xenophobic, and homophobic backgrounds and reputations.  There is a long history of behavior that strongly suggests these things.  People have a real reason to be terrified.  Talks of deportation, registries, marriage licenses being revoked, concentration camps, and many other notions.  

Who am I to tell someone they shouldn't be afraid?  Who am I to tell them nothing will happen?  The fear is real for many people.  What I can do is offer my support of you.  I won't tell you to not be scared.  Hell, I'm a little concerned.  But right now, we don't know what's going to happen.  But we know what we can do today.  Live our life and love others the best that we know how.  Don't let hate run you life.  Push forward in the face of fear.  Unite with others of common goals and interests.